Household Projections

Of the projected 4.4 million additional households expected to be established between 1995 and 2016, what proportion will be generated by (a) young people leaving home as single people; and (b) family break-up; what will be the total cost of building new or converting old accommodation for those households; and how will this cost be shared between public and private providers.

The projected 4.4 million additional households cover the 25-year period 1991 to 2016 and were published in 1995 in my department's documentProjections of Households in England to 2016, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

The household projections do not identify household formation by the categories specifically requested. However, the number of one-person households formed by never married people is projected to rise by 1.85 million between 1991 and 2016. Of this projected rise,
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only 182,000 (just under 10 per cent.) are people aged under 30. The group of one-person households who are divorced or separated is projected to grow by 1.2 million between 1991 and 2016, with divorced and separated men representing two-thirds of this growth.

It is the responsibility of regional conferences, made up of representatives from local authorities and other interested parties, to formulate proposals for the housing requirements in the Regional Planning Guidance (RPG) for each region, and the household projections are only one of the factors that they have to take into consideration in this process. Local planning authorities are required to ensure a reasonable mix and balance of house types and tenures to cater for a range of housing needs. It would not be feasible for my department to make the cost estimates requested.